Fuzz pedal info

[Manni]

Ok so I'm very new to fuzz pedals and havent bought one yet, however the fuzz pedal kits on eBay look awesome plus they're cheap, anyway Q1) how would I increase the "grittiness" of the pedal (I was interested in the OBNE haunt fuzz which is amazing but out of my budget) as in what components would help me change this aspect?

Q2) are there any pedals out there to the afore mentioned haunt fuzz pedal but <£100?

Q3) Would you recommend the kit, or does it ave any major downfalls?

[ADTP92]

What kits are you looking at?

 

For less than $100 I'd look at the Big Muff, though it probably doesn't have the grittiness that you're looking for.

[jaxjaxon]

I do Know that what is known as a Bias control can make it sound more dirty or gritty and some Fuzz makers put them in their circuit's

[WRGKMC]

The biggest difference between Fuzz pedals is how many gain stages they have.

 

A single stage would simply be a clean boost. You add a second stage and you can push the second stage with the first and either and overdrive or Fuzz depending on how hard you push the transistors to saturate. Pedals like The Fuzz face Hendrix used was a Two Transistor Fuzz. By the way, the Transistors cost $1 each so it gives you some idea of the profit markup on pedals.

 

My favorite Two transistor Fuzz is the Moserite Fuzzrite. It has a unique resonance which targets the upper harmonics. A good idea of the tones it can create are the leads on Iron Butterfly - Indagadadavida. Most other two transistor designs are too raspy and raw sounding for my taste. The sustain is too short and cranking an amp loud enough to make them sound decent isn't always an option.

 

Tone Bender was made in 2 and three transistor versions. The three-transistor germanium type MKII were my favorite. Jimmy Page used on on his early albums and Eric Clapton’s “Woman Tone” can be heard on the Disraeli Gears album by Cream. The MKII typically used three germanium Mullard OC75 transistors, but some used OC81D.

 

The history of the Tone benders is a fascinating read which you can find here.

 

http://www.bigmuffpage.com/The_Tonebender_Timeline.html

 

 

Pedals like a Big Muff used 4 transistor instead of two or 3. They really don't sound or perform the same way as other fuzz pedals with 2 or three gain stages do. They are very compressed with practically No dynamics, and have extremely high levels of clipping and sustain. I'd recommend one to someone who is used to using a distortion pedal and didn't want to have to deal with the bark a 2 or 3 gain stage pedal produces.

 

I own several versions of each and like them all. The two transistor versions are a bit choppy to use and the 4 transistor is typically overkill. 3 seems to be the magic number for most music I play.

 

Here's the tone of a Tone bender, likely a 3 transistor Color sound (MKII).

 

[video=youtube_share;3XFfUt7HQWM]